Overview
- Two Nature papers detail a 61-day pig-to-human kidney xenotransplant at NYU Langone, with frequent sampling that created a day-by-day multi-omics atlas of the immune response.
- The graft faced sequential immune attacks driven first by innate pathways, then macrophages, and later T cells, with antibodies and T cells identified as key drivers of rejection.
- Clinicians reversed two rejection episodes using FDA-approved therapies including plasma exchange, steroids, pegcetacoplan, and a T‑cell–depleting agent, restoring full kidney function.
- Researchers reported blood biomarkers that signaled impending immune attacks up to five days before tissue changes, offering a practical early-warning strategy for clinical monitoring.
- The organ came from a Revivicor pig with a single GGAT1 deletion and was transplanted with the pig thymus, which researchers say may have aided tolerance, though findings require replication in living patients and larger cohorts.